Key Highlights
- Madhya Pradesh college students at VIT Sehore allege jaundice outbreak due to contaminated food and drinking water, triggering a night of violence on campus.
- University and district officials admit quality issues and confirm multiple jaundice cases, but firmly deny any student deaths linked to the outbreak.
- The unrest spotlights India’s wider struggle with waterborne hepatitis outbreaks, with national surveillance data linking most such incidents to contaminated drinking water.
Opening Overview
Madhya Pradesh college students at VIT University in Sehore have thrust campus safety and public health into the spotlight after a violent protest over an alleged jaundice outbreak, which they link to poor-quality food and contaminated drinking water in hostels and the mess. The late-night unrest saw hundreds of Madhya Pradesh college students spill out of their rooms, gather in hostel blocks, and eventually move into open confrontation with campus authorities after weeks of simmering complaints. Buses, a car, and even an ambulance were set ablaze, windowpanes were smashed, and public infrastructure, including an RO plant, was vandalised, forcing police from at least five stations to move in and bring the situation under control.
The immediate trigger was fear among Madhya Pradesh college students that jaundice, often caused by hepatitis A or E, was spreading rapidly on campus, with rumours of deaths circulating through hostel groups and social media chats. While the university administration and district officials have categorically denied any fatalities, they have acknowledged multiple confirmed jaundice cases and have ordered food and water testing while declaring a temporary shutdown of the campus. The clash at VIT Sehore has therefore become more than a local law-and-order issue, reflecting deeper anxieties about water safety, campus governance, and India’s ongoing struggle with waterborne viral hepatitis despite national programmes and guidelines issued by health authorities.
Section 1: Timeline of VIT Sehore Campus Unrest
- Students alleged that poor food and contaminated water caused widespread illness and jaundice on campus.
- Rumours about student deaths and alleged assaults by hostel staff fuelled anger among Madhya Pradesh college students.
At VIT University’s Sehore campus, tension had reportedly been building for days as Madhya Pradesh college students complained of stomach ailments, fatigue, and jaundice-like symptoms that they associated with mess food and hostel water supplies. According to district and campus officials, at least around two dozen students had been diagnosed or preliminarily detected with jaundice, with some accounts indicating 22 confirmed cases and one student under evaluation, though all affected students were eventually sent home for treatment. Madhya Pradesh college Students, however, claimed that the actual number of sick peers was much higher and that hostel-level complaints about recurring illness and water quality were either ignored or handled superficially.
The turning point came on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, when a large crowd, estimated by police between 3,000 and 4,000 Madhya Pradesh college students, assembled on campus, initially to demand answers from wardens and senior administrators. Witness accounts suggest that a scuffle between students and security staff, along with rumours that several students had died due to jaundice, rapidly escalated the mood from protest to rage.
Vehicles parked on campus, including a bus, a motorcycle, and at least one car, were set on fire, an ambulance was damaged, and hostel infrastructure such as windowpanes, doors and the RO plant were attacked, turning parts of the campus into a virtual battleground. Senior officers, including the SDM and SDOP of Ashta, rushed to the scene in the early hours to pacify Madhya Pradesh college students, while police teams from Ashta, Jawar, Parvati, Kotwali, and Mandi stations moved in to restore order.
Section 2: District and University Actions Post-Protest
- District officials acknowledge food and water quality complaints but dismiss rumours of deaths among Madhya Pradesh college students.
- The university declares holidays and coordinates with health authorities to test water and food samples.
In the immediate aftermath of the violence, the district administration and university management moved quickly to contain panic, issuing statements that sought to balance acknowledgment of student concerns with a rejection of the most alarming rumours. Sub-Divisional Magistrate Nitin Tale stated that Madhya Pradesh college students at VIT Sehore had indeed faced problems related to food and water quality, and that these complaints formed the backdrop of the protest, but he emphasised that reports of student deaths due to jaundice were false and based on rumours.
He added that food and water samples were being collected and tested to identify and rectify any deficiencies, indicating that the district administration viewed the episode as both a law-and-order and a public health challenge.
VIT Bhopal’s registrar, KK Nair, reinforced this line, describing claims of deaths among Madhya Pradesh college students as baseless, while confirming that some cases of jaundice had been identified and treated, with affected students sent home after medical consultation. In a longer statement cited by local reports, Nair said 22 students had been diagnosed or suspected with jaundice and that health officials, including the district medical officer and other senior health authorities, had inspected the campus between November 23 and 25, reviewing sanitation, food preparation, and water quality. According to that account, authorities had expressed satisfaction with hygiene measures, though students contest this narrative by pointing to recurring complaints and the sudden spike in illness.
To de-escalate the situation and provide space for investigation, the university declared an unscheduled holiday for several days, initially up to November 30, with some reports indicating an extension of the shutdown into early December and postponement of scheduled examinations. Madhya Pradesh college students were seen leaving the campus with luggage, even as police registered cases related to vandalism and, in at least one instance, lodged an FIR against a hostel warden and staff members over alleged assault on protesting students. The twin narratives of official reassurance and student distrust now frame the unfolding inquiry into what exactly went wrong at VIT Sehore and how swiftly the outbreak and unrest could have been prevented.
VIT Bhopal Protest Erupts | Students Revolt After Jaundice Outbreak and Unsafe Campus Conditions
— UnreadWhy (@TheUnreadWhy) November 27, 2025
At VIT Bhopal, over 4000 students erupted in protest after contaminated water and unhygienic food triggered a jaundice outbreak. With 200 hospitalizations and campus damage, the… pic.twitter.com/kvLn6HlnvO
Section 3: Health Risks of Jaundice in Indian Campuses
- Waterborne hepatitis A and E, often perceived as “jaundice,” are strongly associated with unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation.
- National surveillance shows that most outbreaks of such hepatitis in India are linked to contaminated water supplies, putting institutions like colleges at particular risk.
The fears voiced by Madhya Pradesh college students at VIT Sehore about jaundice and unsafe drinking water are rooted in a wider public health reality that extends far beyond a single campus. In India, many jaundice outbreaks are caused by hepatitis A and hepatitis E, viruses that spread primarily through the faecal-oral route when drinking water or food becomes contaminated, particularly in settings with inadequate sewage and sanitation infrastructure.
A major analysis of national surveillance data from the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme found that contaminated drinking water was identified as the cause in around 72 percent of hepatitis A and E outbreaks reported across India between 2011 and 2013, underscoring how closely jaundice clusters are tied to water quality failures.This pattern is also reflected in multiple outbreak investigations from Indian states, where lapses in chlorination, leakage of sewage into pipelines, or poorly maintained storage tanks have repeatedly been linked to sudden surges in jaundice cases among local populations, including young adults and students.
The World Health Organization notes that contaminated water and poor sanitation are directly associated with the transmission of hepatitis A, along with other waterborne diseases, and has worked with Indian authorities to support water safety planning and quality monitoring in several cities. For large residential campuses that house thousands of Madhya Pradesh college students, any breach in water treatment, storage, or distribution systems can therefore translate quickly into a concentrated outbreak, magnified by shared mess facilities and crowded hostels.
Section 4: National Policies and Future Safeguards
- India has launched dedicated initiatives to combat viral hepatitis and improve water safety, yet outbreaks linked to contaminated water continue to occur.
- The VIT Sehore unrest may spur closer scrutiny of private university campuses and reinforce the need for transparent communication with Madhya Pradesh college students.
Recognising the scale of viral hepatitis as a public health challenge, the Government of India has introduced frameworks that seek to reduce both new infections and outbreak severity, including the National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme launched in 2018 under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Official documents linked to this programme highlight safe water, robust surveillance, early diagnosis, and public awareness as key pillars for reducing the burden of hepatitis A and E, which are closely tied to water and sanitation conditions.
At the same time, WHO’s engagement with Indian authorities on water, sanitation, and hygiene emphasises preventive strategies such as water safety plans and routine monitoring, aiming to minimise the risk that communities, including student populations, will face illness due to contaminated supplies.
Despite these policy efforts, reported outbreaks and clusters of jaundice related to water contamination continue to surface from various parts of India, including Madhya Pradesh, indicating that gaps remain between national guidelines and local implementation. The violence involving Madhya Pradesh college students at VIT Sehore has already prompted calls for a review of private universities in the state, with media reports noting that the Madhya Pradesh government has ordered checks on facilities and compliance with health and safety norms following the unrest. For administrators and regulators, the episode serves as a stark reminder that student trust depends not only on physical infrastructure but also on transparent, timely communication when health concerns arise, particularly in high-density residential campuses.
Closing Assessment
The events at VIT Sehore show how quickly frustration over basic services can transform into a serious law-and-order crisis when Madhya Pradesh college students feel their complaints about health and safety are not being heard. Allegations of contaminated water and poor food quality, coupled with fears about a spreading jaundice outbreak, created a combustible mix that culminated in vehicles being torched, campus property damaged, and police drawn from multiple stations to reclaim control of the university grounds.
While officials insist that there have been no deaths and describe the number of confirmed jaundice cases as limited, they have been compelled to acknowledge quality issues, test water and food samples, and temporarily close the campus, reflecting both the seriousness of student concerns and the need to restore confidence. At a broader level, the clash underscores how vulnerable institutional settings remain to waterborne hepatitis outbreaks in a country where national surveillance has repeatedly tied most such incidents to contaminated drinking water.
where programmes to control viral hepatitis still struggle against infrastructural and implementation gaps. For Madhya Pradesh college students and young people elsewhere, the key test will be whether investigations at VIT Sehore lead to sustained improvements in water safety, sanitation, and grievance redressal mechanisms, rather than short-lived responses that fade once the immediate crisis passes. The outcome of this episode may ultimately influence how campuses across India design their health protocols, engage with student feedback, and balance security responses with the duty to protect the wellbeing and rights of those who live and study there.
